


Five Little Ducks

by Lauralot



Series: Alexander Pierce should have died slower [26]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Diapers, Embarrassment, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Non-Sexual Age Play, Past Brainwashing, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Torture, Wetting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 06:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7349449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lauralot/pseuds/Lauralot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky remembers that he's not the only Winter Soldier.</p><p>He can't just leave the others out in the cold.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Little Ducks

**Author's Note:**

> Translations for the Russian will appear if you hover over the text. For those on a mobile or who otherwise cannot access the hover text, the translations are also in the ending notes.

**Five little ducks went out one day**  
 **Over the hill and far away.**  
— “Five Little Ducks,” Author Unknown

“I’m not the only Winter Soldier.”

Everybody stares and Bucky ducks his head down, giving Bucky Bear a squeeze. It sounds stupid when he says it out loud, like the times when he wakes up from nightmares and thinks he’s really killed Daddy and everyone else. Bucky had wanted this to be a nightmare. He didn’t want to tell.

But Bucky Bear couldn’t stop thinking about the other soldiers, stuck in ice and waiting for a mission that would never come. Before Tony bought him to give to Daddy, Bucky Bear was in storage for a long time. It was dark, and there weren’t any missions or games and nobody ever gave him honey. Bucky Bear didn’t want the other soldiers to be like that.

And neither did Bucky, so here he is.

“What do you mean, Bucky?” Bruce asks. He sounds confused. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t believe Bucky, and Bucky knows that. But his brain keeps thinking that they’ll assume he’s making this up. That he can’t tell dreams from the real world. That he’s crazy, or he wants attention, or he’s a traitor who knew about the other Winter Soldiers the whole time and now nobody will want him around.

Shutting his eyes tight, Bucky takes a deep breath. His doctors call it “intrusive thoughts” when he starts to worry like this. They say it’s something his brain is just going to do because of his PTSD and other stuff, and that they’re going to work with him to get rid of the thoughts, but until then, he has to remember that they’re just something that happens. He doesn’t have to act on them or be scared that other people will do what he’s thinking. He can just let them happen and ignore them as they do.

Bucky breathes out on a count of ten. Then in on another, and then out again. Then he opens his eyes.

“I’m not the only Winter Soldier,” he repeats, rubbing Bucky Bear’s nose. “There are five more of them, and they live in Siberia. Or they did. I don’t know if they’re still there. Last time I saw them, they were all in ice.” He bites his lip, then blurts out, “I wasn’t trying to hide them but I couldn’t remember until the other day when Tasha and I were watching the Soviet Winnie the Pooh cartoons and then I started to think more about Russia and I—”

“It’s not your fault, Buck.” Daddy’s forehead is creased, but it’s with confusion, not anger. “When did they make other soldiers? There weren’t any in your files from right when you woke up—was it the sixties?”

Bucky shakes his head. Tony’s sitting on the couch beside him, and Bucky really, _really_ doesn’t want to say this part. Even with all the HYDRA files that Natasha put on the Internet, and all the other stuff the Avengers found when they were getting ready for Bucky’s trial, nobody knew why he was in Russia from 1987 to early 1992. They’d figured it was because the Soviet Union was collapsing, and HYDRA either wanted to destabilize the situation further or try and fix it. Bucky couldn’t remember, no matter how hard he strained his memory.

He remembers now. He remembers what he did after Howard crashed the car.

“1991,” he whispers.

Tony stops breathing for a second.

“I’m sorry!” Bucky can’t keep the words from spilling out. “I’m so, so sorry I didn’t know I couldn’t _remember_ and then there was this stuff in the trunk of the car like they put into Daddy and they wanted that and—”

“Your dad made a super soldier serum?” Clint asks. He’s staring at Tony.

So is everybody else now; no one’s eyes are on Bucky anymore.

Tony doesn’t answer. His face is pale and his mouth is a thin, tight line. He looks sick and sad and like he didn’t know about it. He looks hurt.

“Bucky,” Natasha says. “Do you know who the other super soldiers were? HYDRA agents? Did they come from the Red Room?”

“They were HYDRA.” He can remember that, though the names are still fuzzy. Leo, maybe. And...Tess? No one had called them by name once they had the serum. Just by number. They’d brought Bucky to Siberia to train them and fight them before they got the serum. And then they made him do it again after. “They were assassins and spies and sleeper agents before they got the serum. I think that’s why they picked them. They were really good at it.”

Sam breathes in a way that sounds like hissing. “So HYDRA basically mixed a Winter Soldier with a Black Widow. Five times. And now they could be anywhere?”

“I think they’re still in Siberia,” Bucky mumbles. Bucky Bear’s sure of it, anyway.

“But that was twenty years ago, Buck.” Daddy’s voice is gentle. His hand is on the cushion next to Bucky, and Bucky would squeeze it if he weren’t busy hugging Bucky Bear. “HYDRA never kept you in the same base for twenty years. And after all their files leaked, they’d probably use their soldiers as much as possible—”

“I don’t think they ever used the other soldiers,” Bucky says.

Everyone’s still staring when he manages to raise his head. None of them look like they think he’s crazy, but it’s still too much, so Bucky goes back to looking at Daddy’s hand. “I think I remember why they sent me to Russia now,” he adds. “HYDRA doesn’t always share stuff, even with other HYDRA people. The place in Siberia...they knew the Soviet Union was in trouble, but they wanted to save it. And they said they’d give the Americans secret information from the KGB and other places if they could use me to get their own soldiers.”

He’d remembers hearing that conversation now. Or at least half of it. He’d been in one of Pierce’s offices, too little to really understand what Pierce was talking about over the phone.

“They think they can make someone like you,” Pierce had said, smiling and running his hand down Bucky’s hair. “As if that could save them now. Communist zealots—their faction will crumble just like their party.”

“They want more of me?” Bucky had asked. It was the only part that made any sense, and he felt cold. No one would need him if there were other soldiers. What if Daddy liked them better?

“Oh, snowflake.” Pierce’s lips had grazed his forehead as he pulled Bucky into a hug. “There’s no one like you.”

Bucky shudders now, fighting a wave of nausea. Daddy’s hand is right there, but Bucky can’t let go of his bear, and so he ends up just scooting until their shoulders are touching. Then Daddy’s hand is running down his back, his voice reverberating through Bucky in soothing tones. The same words, over and over— _it’s okay Buck just talk when you’re ready it’s all right_ —until Bucky can breathe. Until he can take a hand off of Bucky Bear and feel the cell phone in his pocket. His doctors will come as soon as he calls. As soon as he’s done explaining this.

So he tries to barrel on. “They were for the Soviets, but then the Soviets fell apart. And the new Winter Soldiers weren’t like me, they wanted to fight with their handlers and the Commander there had to put them in ice because they wouldn’t be good and then when I told Pierce about it he said they were more trouble than they were worth, so I don’t think anybody ever woke them up again.”

“HYDRA couldn’t control them?” Bruce asks. He doesn’t sound happy.

“The serum amplifies what’s inside,” Daddy mutters.

Bucky Bear’s stuffing seems to swell with anger, because it’s not the other soldiers’ fault that they didn’t want to be bossed around and shocked and frozen like Bucky was, and they didn’t know how much becoming a soldier hurt before they signed up, and anyway, they didn’t have a Daddy to teach them how to be good.

Bucky doesn’t say anything. The serum’s inside him, and he did everything HYDRA ever wanted.

He tells himself that Daddy would never hate him. But it feels hollow.

“They shouldn’t be all alone,” he says, except it comes out so soft only Bucky Bear can hear it. He tries again, louder. “They shouldn’t be frozen forever.”

“We can’t just thaw them and turn them loose,” Sam protests. His voice isn’t mad, but it still sounds like _no no no._ “You said they were sleeper agents and true believers.”

“So was I,” Natasha says. Her voice is strong and steady when she speaks, her face smooth, but somehow she still seems like Tasha. Not like when Tasha’s leading bear expeditions or jumping on the bed, though. More like when she gets to do things she could never do when she was actually small and gets so quiet.

“But what are we going to do with them?” Bruce asks. “Sam’s right, we can’t let them go. There’s no way SHIELD has the resources anymore to handle them, even if we trusted them to do it.”

And there’s no way they can stay here. Bucky can tell just from looking at Tony: he’s still all sick and white, and he hasn’t said anything.

“Sharon might be able to help,” Steve offers. “The CIA could still have the resources to—”

“We’re going to find them.”

Tony’s standing up now. He’s still pale, but his eyes look fiery now instead of glazed and sad. “I don’t care where they end up. None of that matters until we get our hands on them.”

Bucky begins to think it would be better if he’d never told them about the soldiers at all.

*

The Winter Soldiers were supposed to stay frozen.

That was the deal. Everyone had agreed on that before the team left for Siberia. They’d bring the soldiers to the tower, where JARVIS could keep a constant watch on them and send out Tony’s suits if need be, until they worked out what to do with the soldiers. But no one was coming out of cryostasis until they had a plan. Every Avenger had agreed to that.

Each of the soldiers is out of their tank now, lying unconscious on cots Bruce had set up. And their lips are still bluish with cold, but they’re fully thawed.

Now that Bucky can see their faces, each name comes readily to mind, and there’s a blush in his cheeks at forgetting so easily. He’d seen them so often, leading up to their transformation. Fought them. Heard them talk amongst themselves when it was permitted, almost feeling the buzz of adrenaline through them as they murmured about all they’d be capable of once they were like him.

And he’d heard their screams echo down the hall once the serum burned in their veins.

There’s Arkady. He’s Chinese, the smallest of the men, but he’d been vicious, cunning. A few times in the training, well before the serum, he’d managed to outsmart Bucky and nearly won their fights. Then there’s Dmitri, exactly Bucky’s height. Bucky had liked him inasmuch as he could like anything in those days. Maybe because he was black, and Bucky’s abusers had always been white men. Maybe because he was the only one who hadn’t looked at Bucky as something to be replaced. He’d seemed so devoted to the Soviet Union, and it had faintly reminded Bucky of some of his earliest handlers, before he’d been given to America.

Tesla’s the only woman in the group. She was probably a conscript from the Red Room; he remembers her fighting was similar to Natasha’s. She’s about Natasha’s size as well, white, and looks so small next to Leonid, the tallest soldier. He must be at least Thor’s height, bearded and nearly as thickly muscled as the Asgardian. Bucky had never trusted Leonid. Leo, the others called him. He always seemed to be hiding something, and usually when HYDRA hid things, it meant they were really going to hurt.

But the last soldier, Josef, is the only one who makes Bucky feel cold.

He’d been the first to stop screaming after the serum transfusion. The first to fight Bucky once they’d all recovered, and the first opponent ever to best the Winter Soldier. He’d been the one who rebelled; the others had just followed in his wake.

They shouldn’t be out of the ice.

“We didn’t have a choice,” Rhodey had explained, hauling Leo into the room. “The base was deteriorating—it didn’t look like anybody’d been there since the nineties, and it wasn’t completely protected from the elements.”

“It’s a miracle their life support held out as long as did,” Bruce had added. He had Josef in a fireman’s carry, grunting as he laid him on the cot. “As soon as we tried disconnecting their cyrostasis units, everything started to break down.”

“If we left them in there,” Natasha said, “they’d have suffocated.”

Tony didn’t say anything. He’d just put Tesla down and then stalked off. Bucky doubts he’d have minded if they did suffocate.

Now most of the Avengers have cleared out. It’s just Steve, Natasha, Bucky, and Bucky Bear waiting. Bucky Bear’s sitting in the corner. He has an excellent vantage point, and Bucky can’t afford to hold him right now. Having Bucky Bear right there to be brave for him makes it too easy to feel little. He can’t be little when the other soldiers wake up. Any sign of vulnerability will be like blood in the water to them.

Natasha’s still in her tactical suit. Steve’s wearing one of his stealth suits, dark, without any stars and stripes. It’s his job to be silent, Nat had said. To look like he’s the one in charge, and he’s too important to speak directly to them. Steve’s playing the leader because Thor isn’t here, and that makes Steve the strongest. The soldiers respect power.

Nat will be the one barking orders and objectives in Russian once they wake. Bucky’s tasked with being familiar. If he’s here, the odds are better that they won’t suspect this is a trick.

Bucky Bear’s job, Nat had said solemnly, would be to keep them all safe.

She’d sounded like Tasha again when she said it, which made Bucky Bear’s stuffing contract with worry and Bucky’s chest ache. Natasha almost never talked about her time in the Red Room and the KGB except if she was trying to help Bucky feel better about something. Whenever they were little, she was a bit more talkative, though Bucky never pried for fear of making her feel bad. He could guess things because he’d worked with the Red Room and the KGB, but there was so much she’d never told him. Never told anyone, probably, except for Clint.

And for Nat to have to stand here and pretend to be like one of her own handlers, to mislead people who probably started out just like she did, how much must that hurt?

Bucky needs to call his therapists again. He wonders if Nat would be willing to speak with them. Or at least to Clint or Sam.

But then Arkady’s rousing, and Bucky can’t think of therapists anymore. He has to be the Soldier now. The Soldier never had therapists. Never had anything but missions and ice and comfort that tasted like poison.

“ _Dobroye utro, Soldat,_ ” Bucky says, and Arkady’s eyes lock onto him at once, though they’re still cloudy from the ice and the sedatives that the Avengers used to keep them under.

“ _Ya gotov otvechat,_ ” Arkady answers. He’s already looking past Bucky, surveying the room. Taking in Steve and Nat. Taking in every detail, noting every escape route. Just as a Winter Soldier would.

Just as the other four do when they wake.

“ _Soldaty_ ,” Nat says, stepping forward, and the authority in her voice makes Bucky snap to attention on reflex. The other soldiers are watching, rapt.

But Bucky finds his own eyes wandering as Nat speaks. He’s staring at Steve, hoping that his friend can maintain the impassive, cold facade necessary to pull this off. It helps that Steve doesn’t speak Russian well enough to understand all that Nat’s saying, so his face can’t give away any particular lies.

She tells them that there will be a new mission, if they prove themselves capable of handling it. So much has changed since they were last used that the Commander doubts if they’ll be able to blend in at all. It’s the plan the Avengers came up with when they realized they couldn’t keep the soldiers frozen: bide time until they figure out what to do, and hopefully start deprogramming all that HYDRA propaganda in the process.

Nat tells them that they’re in America now, so all communications from here on out will be in English. She says that insubordination will be dealt with harshly, and reminds them that their deplorable behavior the last time they were awake is exactly why they’ve been on ice for so long, so they had best watch themselves.

Dmitri actually flinches at that. It’s such a small motion, almost imperceptible, but in contrast to the stillness of the other soldiers, it’s glaring.

Just like that, Steve’s face falters. It’s only for a second, and in that second, Bucky feels like the breath’s been knocked out of him.

It’s not for fear of the soldiers seeing through the ruse. It’s the _look_ on Steve’s face. Heartbreak and disgust and something like anger. It can’t be directed at Dmitri, looking blankly nervous and as groggy and cold as the others. Bucky can almost feel the chill that has to be running through them. If only HYDRA provided blankets when they woke their soldiers. He remembers his own veins almost _burning_ with cold; it feels unforgivable to make them suffer that way now, in nothing but the vital-monitoring cryo-suits. Bucky can feel his own flesh prickle beneath the pressure vest and athletic pants—he’d put them on to match the others as best as possible—and he’s not sure if it’s a sympathetic sensation or a reaction to Steve.

Steve never saw Bucky in the ice, not outside of photographs. The audio recordings they’d found from the old Soviet bases had all been made when Bucky was fully awake, not when his speech was slurred and he was too limp and shivering to hold himself up. Steve had heard the handlers reassuring Bucky, not callously barking orders. The disgust and anger aren’t aimed at Dmitri, but HYDRA.

 _And himself_ , Bucky can’t help but think as Steve forces the cold back onto his features. Is this what Steve would have done if he’d found Bucky still in cryostasis? Forced himself to hold it together long enough to play the part, and then go slam his fists into punching bags until he’d broken all of them and his hands besides?

“You will answer to the Soldier,” Nat finishes, speaking English now as she jerks her head toward Bucky. There are no threats as she looks to Steve. The truly worthy handlers had never needed them.

Steve can’t pick up Bucky Bear as he heads for the door. Bucky knows that. It’s a miracle that the soldiers didn’t jump at the vulnerability Steve’s already let slip. If he picked up a teddy bear, the best case scenario would be a violent escape attempt that demolished this whole floor and several Iron Man suits.

But Bucky can’t help the pang in his chest as Steve and Natasha leave without a look back. At least Bucky Bear could tell Steve that what HYDRA did isn’t his fault. And maybe he could convince Steve to call his own doctor, too.

*

There’s very little Bucky can actually do to distract the soldiers.

Thankfully, they’re all chomping at the bit to spar and prove themselves for the upcoming mission. And their enhanced bodies mean that they can easily spend eight to ten hours in the gym, pausing only for meals. Bucky can imagine how pleasing it is for them to have real food again instead of flavorless slop. Once, he’d had to eat at a government banquet while undercover on a mission, and the taste had nearly brought tears to his eyes.

But none of the soldiers show relief. Since Dmitri’s flinch, they’ve failed to show any emotions at all. It gives Bucky chills. He used to be like that, so good at hiding his feelings that even he thought he didn’t have any.

Bucky can’t spar with the soldiers. He’s not at a fighting weight anymore. He still uses the gym, still maintains himself as best he can, but these soldiers were frozen at the top of their form. Bucky can’t compete with that. They’d overpower him at once, and they’d realize something was amiss.

Luckily, they all seem to accept without question that Bucky’s only there to supervise. He feels their eyes on him as they slam each other into the mats, and their sweat smells eager, somehow. Desperate.

Still, even they can’t fight forever, and once they’re through with the weights and punching bags and battles, after they’ve showered and wolfed down their dinners, then it’s up to Bucky to fill the time until they sleep. He’s mostly turned to pop culture, hoping that stories of protagonists choosing their own destinies might strike a chord with the soldiers. It’s under the guise of teaching them about the society they’re to infiltrate, and Bucky adds that knowing what’s popular will help with conversation. Only Josef had ever questioned it.

“What of technology and history?” he’d asked on the first day. “Politics? We can’t operate without that.”

Bucky had forced his face to be expressionless and coldly answered, “That will be provided when they trust you.”

Though it turns out that even pop culture’s a gamble. So many drama movies and novels are based on world events that the soldiers are in no state to learn about. If they hear that the Soviet Union fell, they might completely lose it. Bucky can’t risk showing them something like Jason Bourne; maybe they could identify with Bourne regaining control of his life, but it might trigger them. And all the conspiracies in other action movies could make them suspicious. And why are there so many horror films that are just thinly veiled allegories to the Cold War?

Which leaves romantic comedies, young adult fantasy novels, and not a lot else. And even then, _You’ve Got Mail_ showed them that the Internet’s become something that laypeople use, so undoubtedly, the soldiers will start asking about that at some point.

Today _The Proposal_ is playing on the TV screen. All the soldiers are sharing one floor of the tower. It wasn’t intended as an apartment, so there’s no stove or fridge, but there are beds and a bathroom. The soldiers have just been using the showers in the gym and having meals in the communal kitchen. It’s better if they don’t have access to knives or an oven anyway.

Bucky’s been living with them for the past four days. Bucky Bear is sitting on the floor by the cardboard dressers where they’re keeping their clothes, but Bucky can’t pick him up, just like he can’t hug Captain Ameribear, who’s guarding the gym. It’s been four days since Steve could read him a bedtime story or tuck him in. Four days since he’s been able to play Bearvengers or color with Tasha.

He’s not the one who’s been sparring, but Bucky feels so drained and listless that he can hardly move.

Arkady is on the couch, watching the film without ever seeming to blink, as is Dmitri. Josef is beside them, reading the last of the _Hunger Games_ novels. Tesla sits on her bed, scrutinizing a women’s fashion magazine. For some reason, Leo’s doing the same.

Trying not to let himself be distracted by planning out Bearvenger missions in his head, Bucky keeps watch. But his thoughts drift and when he comes to again, Arkady’s standing before him.

“Music,” Arkady says. His American accent is flawless.

“What?” Bucky asks, caught off guard. No. Wrong. The Winter Soldier wouldn’t say that. “Explain.”

“American music.” Though he’s the shortest of the male soldiers, it feels like he’s towering over Bucky now. “I want to hear it. Learn it.”

There’s an iPod and speakers on one of the dressers. It’s a Shuffle, so it can’t connect to the Internet, and its contents have been carefully selected by JARVIS to ensure that there are no songs with clear political or historical messages. Bucky retrieves the items, walking to a far corner to turn them on so the others won’t be distracted.

He demonstrates how to operate the iPod and hands it to Arkady. Bucky turns to go, but then Arkady’s cranking up the volume so loud that somehow, Adele’s voice becomes painful. Immediately, Bucky feels Arkady’s hand around his wrist.

“You’re different,” Arkady says. The music is blaring and Bucky reads his lips more than he hears him.

Arkady always was the most observant of the soldiers. _Fuck._ Bucky’s throat is too dry for him to swallow. He keeps his face impassive. “I am what the mission requires.”

“You’re thinner.” Arkady squeezes, grinding the bones in Bucky’s wrist. “There are emotions all over your face.” The accusations are clear, although he doesn’t voice them. _What’s happened to you? Why would they want you like this? What mission requires such weakness?_

“My loyalty is proven.”

“Why did they wake us if they can’t trust us?” Arkady persists. “What are they trying to find?”

Bucky wrenches his hand free. He should strike Arkady across the face with his left arm, send him flying into a wall. It’s what the Soldier would do with an insubordinate teammate. But he can’t. “It is not your place to question.”

He turns away and walks straight into Josef, who crept up behind them without Bucky even hearing. The others are looking their way now.

Heart hammering, Bucky braces himself for a fight. JARVIS is watching. The Iron Man suits are just seconds away. But this won’t be easy.

The blow never comes. Josef looks straight through him, eyes on Arkady. Doesn’t even consider him a threat. “He was always the most malleable,” Josef says as if Bucky’s not there. “Anyone could wake him up and say they’re HYDRA. He’d never question it.”

“Your insubordination will be reported,” Bucky insists. His body’s trying to tremble, but he won’t allow it.

Josef grabs his arm. His grip is even tighter than Arkady’s. “They want soldiers,” he says. “This is the only one they can control. He’s our leverage.”

Dmitri, Leo, and Tesla are coming closer, ready for a fight. The speakers are so loud and the noise seems to echo in Bucky’s head, his heartbeat booming and out of sync with the music, making it that much harder to think. He could tell them this is a test of their observational skills, announce that they’ve passed with exceptional marks. He could flatter them, say that the handlers haven’t maintained him as much because they knew the newer soldiers were better. But they wouldn’t fall for it.

“Poor foolish _Soldat_ ,” Josef says, looking at Bucky for the first time. “They’ve burned out all the brains you had left.”

“HYDRA abandoned you!” Bucky shouts.

The speakers cut out. It’s JARVIS’s doing, to better hear the commotion. To better advise the Avengers before they crash through the door to contain the soldiers. Bucky needs to keep his mouth shut and his guard up. The room is free of any potential weapons, but that doesn’t mean the soldiers can’t snap his neck.

He can’t be quiet. The words come spilling out like when he’s five and upset and ends up yelling in his therapy sessions before crying and apologizing. “They classified you as unstable failures! They were going to keep you in cryostasis indefinitely! They were looking into advanced lobotomy procedures or improved mind wipes to keep you in check—”

“Traitor,” Josef spits back. He has both of Bucky’s arms now, and he shakes him like an unruly child. Bucky can feel his teeth rattle in his skull. “Idiot. Falling for capitalist lies and not even realizing—”

“The Soviet Union’s collapsed!” Bucky Bear’s shouting _Be quiet_ but Bucky can’t stop himself. “It’s gone.”

Dmitri gasps, his face ashy.

“Liar,” Tesla mutters.

“The whole world knows about HYDRA now. The organization’s in shambles and they still left you to rot. Your life support was failing. You would have died. Karpov wrote you off as a lost cause and no one else even bothered to try!”

“It’s a trick,” Arkady says.

From the corner of his eye, Bucky sees Leo nod.

“A trick to weaken us,” Josef adds. “It won’t work. We’re stronger than this one ever was.”

“We have the files,” Bucky says. That’s true. The Avengers collected everything they could when they found the soldiers. “You’ll recognize Karpov’s signature. When HYDRA was exposed, their intel leaked online. You can see how they cut their funding to the Soviet bases. There’s even security footage of everyone clearing out the base, logs from the security system that show no one ever came back.” He has no idea if there are any logs or security footage, but he has to sound self-assured or they’ll tear him apart. “When Karpov returned me to the Americans, Director Pierce laughed about all of you in my face. He called you failures. Asked what Karpov had expected.”

Josef lets out a short, angry breath. Bucky’s expecting a blow, but instead Josef lets go so abruptly that Bucky staggers back. “Prove it. Now.”

“I will.”

*

“Agent Barton was sent to kill me,” Nat concludes. “He made a different call.”

They’re all in Natasha’s room now. Bucky Bear keeps saying over and over that this is a mistake, that it’s dangerous to have the soldiers in a room that wasn’t cleared out beforehand, that they can make _anything_ into a weapon. But it was Nat’s idea, and she’s the one who went through deprogramming without being a traumatized five year old at the time, so Bucky is willing to follow her lead.

Anyway, the soldiers look as harmless right now as they’re ever likely to be. It had taken every Avenger to keep them contained, and _hours_ to convince them that Bucky had told the truth. It’s well past midnight now, and the soldiers look even more drained than Bucky feels.

He knows what that’s like to have your world torn away all at once. He hadn’t felt up to fighting anyone when he’d lost Pierce.

“Why did you leave?” Leo demands.

Bucky looks up to find the man pointing at him.

“They still utilized you,” Leo continues. “They valued _you_. Why did you turn your back on HYDRA?”

“They raped me.” It’s the bluntest Bucky’s ever been about the abuse, and he’s not sure if he’s just too exhausted to dance around it or if it’s that’s a sign of recovery. “They kidnapped me and tortured me to make me do as I was told. I was their prisoner until my friend found me and made me remember what they took away.”

There’s a subdued shock in the soldiers’ eyes that Bucky hadn’t expected. HYDRA’s most elite death squad hadn’t known the truth about their organization’s greatest weapon? Although, thinking on it, why would they? HYDRA compartmentalized everything they could behind committees, pay grades, and encrypted files. It kept their lowest operatives from getting cold feet about their plans and their high level members from getting their fingers into too many pies at once. It must have kept their new soldier recruits from asking too many questions about what was in store for them.

“What’d they tell you about me?” Bucky asks.

“Your serum wasn’t perfected.” It’s Tesla who speaks up. “It made you erratic, and they used their chair to keep you in line.”

“And of course you wouldn’t have any of those side effects.” Bucky laughs a little. It hurts his throat. “I was _erratic_ because the serum helped me regain memories the longer I was awake. I’d figure out I was a prisoner, and they’d shock me to make me docile again.” He hangs his head, so tired. “They must have thought you’d all be easier to control because you were as willing as they could get. But when you had minds of your own, they figured the expense of maintaining six soldiers wasn’t worth it, and stuck you in the ice until they had a solution. If they ever bothered to look for one.”

“We have nothing.” Dmitri’s voice is faint even in Bucky’s enhanced hearing. He looks the most devastated, if it’s possible to quantify that sort of thing. Bucky still only has bits and pieces of his time training the soldiers, but he remembers Dmitri had always seemed so sincere. Most assassins at that level were either money or power hungry. Or just wanted an excuse to hurt people. But Dmitri had always believed in the Soviet Union. In a way, he was like Steve. So devoted to sacrificing his whole being for the cause he believed it.

And now he’s woken up to find it gone.

“That’s not true,” Bucky says. “Just because they wrote you off—”

“Someone cared enough about you to track you down.” Dmitri glares. It’s unnerving as hell, probably because Bucky always thought of him as the gentlest one. “We gave up everything for this. We don’t have anyone to go back to! There’s nothing left!”

“Bucky made us track you down,” Nat says.

Dmitri falters.

“So no one else could use us against him,” Tesla counters.

Bucky tries not to flinch. He’s seen Black Widows fight each other before. It’s always a bloodbath. Bucky Bear isn’t scared, but for safety’s sake, he thinks they should move under the bed.

“No one came for twenty years.” Nat never minces words. “Not even when HYDRA was crumbling, when you’d have been of the most use. Bucky’s the only one who ever tried, and he did it as soon as he remembered you.”

“And now we’re his soldiers.” Josef stands up. It’s the first time he’s spoken since the Avengers managed to get the truth through to them. “And we just have to serve everything we’ve fought against or you’ll shock us back into line.”

God, it’s just one paranoid accusation after another, isn’t it? Was Bucky this annoying in his first days here? _Probably worse,_ he has to admit to himself, shaking his head. At least none of these soldiers are sometimes five. “I’m not an Avenger,” Bucky protests. “I don’t fight anymore. I gave that up. I’m not about to force you into it.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” It’s Dmitri again. His voice is back to being small, his shoulders slumped.

“What Bucky and I did.” For the first time since she’s been around the soldiers, Natasha softens her face. “You figure out what you want to do with your lives.”

“How?” Arkady asks.

“We’ll help.” Bucky rubs at his eyes. “But first...we need to sleep. All of you. You should sleep.”

And the minute Natasha herds them out of the bedroom, that’s just what Bucky does, curled up around his bear on her floor.

*

For the Winter Soldiers who were supposed to be _better_ at infiltrating society, they sure are literal-minded.

Maybe it’s because Bucky trained them in the past, or maybe because there’s no way Natasha would tolerate it. Maybe, as Bucky Bear keeps insisting, they’re all just ridiculous. Whatever their thought process, they seem to have decided that the best way to cope with their situation is to follow Bucky around and do everything that he does. Absolutely everything, down to the timing of their bathroom breaks. Super soldiers can’t have heart attacks, but the first time Bucky’d opened his bedroom door in the morning to find his little band of stalkers standing in front of it, his body had damn well tried.

And sure, sometimes it’s cute. Over the following week, there’ve been moments that made Bucky smile in spite of himself. Like the time he didn’t bother to check the temperature of his soup before he stuck the spoon in his mouth, and all the soldiers had copied his reaction right down to the yelp. There was the time he got overly warm and threw his hoodie off, leading to a pile of jackets on the ground. Leo had picked up Tesla’s by mistake later on and struggled with it for well over a minute, not seeming to understand why it wouldn’t fit. And Bucky couldn’t keep from grinning the first time that Dmitri genuinely laughed at the TV instead of waiting for Bucky to react first.

But other times, it’s just awkward. They followed him into therapy on Wednesday. Thankfully, Steve had let the Worths know about the soldier situation back when Bucky was supervising them around the clock, but he still spent a hellish hour sitting there in a makeshift group therapy session where everyone refused to talk. Including Bucky. He could imagine what the soldiers would make of doctors and how it would feel to have their mentor discussing them with those doctors. They’d feel betrayed and fear painful procedures to correct any perceived failings. And Bucky Bear pointed out that they might retaliate somehow. So that was a session wasted. At least they didn’t tag along on Friday.

Then there was the day Bucky suggested they take Lucky on a walk, and every soldier had wanted to the hold the leash as they circled around the gym’s track. The concept of taking turns had apparently not occurred to them; they wanted to do it all at once. Which led to a lot of feet colliding into shins and several losses of balance that nearly came to blows.

“Do they always do everything together?” Clint asked, staring after them.

“Pretty much.” Bucky hadn’t been sure if Clint could actually hear him with his eyes still on the soldiers.

“They’re like ducklings,” Clint had said.

Of course that was right when Sam was jogging by in the opposite direction, and of course Sam took the time to laugh and say “ _Bucklings._ ” If that stupid nickname stuck, Bucky was going to knock out his teeth.

Bucky Bear added that he’d gnaw through Sam’s ankles.

They really are like baby ducks, though: Needy, underfoot, and always getting into trouble. Leo has a habit of stealing Tesla’s magazines. Sometimes Bucky finds the glossy pages torn to pieces on the floor, hidden under furniture. When they go to Nat’s room, he keeps trying to pocket her lipsticks. Josef copies Bucky just like all the others, but he rarely speaks and his body’s always so tense. Nothing seems to soothe him. Dmitri’s always the closest to Bucky, so much so that Bucky’s bumped into him more than once. What personality Bucky had seen in him at the Siberian base is buried now, overwhelmed by his attempts to earn Bucky’s approval. Tesla changes her clothes at least three times a day, constantly fidgeting with them. She doesn’t seem to know how to dress now that she’s not in combat gear and not playing a role. And every time one of her fashion magazines goes missing, she’s that much more distressed.

Bucky had brought Bruce around to try and teach them relaxation techniques, but that got cut short when Arkady froze up, tensing so hard that Bruce’s teacup shattered in his hand. He couldn’t or wouldn’t say what had distressed him, and he barely spoke for the rest of the day.

“I don’t know what to _do_ ,” Bucky confessed that night once the duckling soldiers were sleeping. “They’re not getting better. They won’t talk to the Worths anymore. How am I supposed to help?”

“It hasn’t even been two weeks.” Nat stretched her legs out on the bed. Her hair was pulled back like she just finished a workout. They used to work out together before Bucky started duck-sitting. “It was over two months before I’d have any real conversation with the therapists in SHIELD. When they debriefed me the first time...that night after Clint brought me in, when no one tortured me or shot me in the head, I could see stars out the window. And I thought things might be okay. But it took so long for me to really believe that, Bucky. You weren’t doing so well when we first got you here, either.”

Bucky’s face flamed. “Was I this exhausting? I don’t know how anyone ever put up with me.”

“You needed help,” Nat said simply. “And it wasn’t that bad, Bucky. There weren’t five of you.”

“They want to be just like me.” Bucky flopped back on the bed, hands over his eyes. “They think I’ve got it all figured out. I have no clue what I’m doing. Every time one of them panics I just want to hide and play with my bears. I understand bears.”

Bucky Bear said that bears were much better operatives than people.

“Get them to play bears with you.”

“ _No,_ ” Bucky said at once. “No way.”

“Bucky, they’ve practically imprinted on you. They’re not going to judge you for having bears.”

He couldn’t shake the worry that they _would._ Their respect for Bucky now was entirely based in their belief that he’d gone through this same process and had come out as a normal person. A grown-up. And they were made to be better soldiers than Bucky. They could remember their lives, and the mind games Pierce played probably never would have worked on them. They’d think he was pathetic if they watched him play with his bears and ask to be read to. They’d laugh at him.

Bucky Bear said that he’d eat them if they did, but that didn’t make Bucky feel any better.

Besides, the ducklings—damn it, now he couldn’t get that stupid nickname out of his head—copied everything Bucky did. What if they copied his little side too, even if it made them disgusted or uncomfortable?

Pierce had forced this onto him. He wasn’t going to force it onto the soldiers.

So he’s not little now, not outside of his therapy sessions or the times at night when the ducklings are already in bed and Daddy comes to read to him. That’s enough. Bucky and each of his bears gets at least three hugs every night, and Daddy’s started reading two stories now. It’s fine. Bucky doesn’t really _need_ to color or watch cartoons or any of that during the day, even if he misses it.

He misses Tony, too. He hasn’t taken the ducklings to the lab ever. He’s sure that Tony doesn’t want them there. Tony hasn’t been around the ducklings once since the day that the Avengers had to prove to them that HYDRA had abandoned them. And Bucky’s not even sure if that was really Tony. He’d been in the Iron Man suit and he hadn’t said a thing the whole time. Bucky Bear thinks Tony probably just sent one of his suits without him inside it.

Maybe he could ask for Tony to read him a bedtime story. But then he wouldn’t get to see Daddy as much. Unless Tony and Daddy could read a story together. Tony would probably like that and Daddy would probably say Tony was overly dramatic when he read. Bucky’s pretty sure that Tony will still come to his bedroom. There aren’t ever any ducklings in here.

Or so Bucky thinks. The next morning, he stumbles out of bed and is starting to slide his pajama top off when he spots a pair of eyes watching from the other side of his dresser.

The sound Bucky makes is shrill and pathetic. “What are you _doing_?” he demands, heart racing.

“We couldn’t sleep.” Tesla steps out from behind the dresser. How long have they been here? In his _room_ , with his bears and story books and not at all adult things? Why did JARVIS let them in?

“You can’t just camp out in someone’s room while they’re unconscious—”

“What are you wearing?” Arkady asks. He’s sitting at Bucky’s desk; the realization would make Bucky jump again if he weren’t paralyzed with horror.

He was taking his shirt off. These pajama pants don’t come up as high as some of the others. If they _saw_ —

“Get out of my room,” he commands, trying to sound as cold and assured as the Soldier used to. But he can’t be the Soldier right now, his heart’s going too fast and he needs the bathroom and they’re going to laugh at him, they’ll _laugh_.

“What are you wearing?” Arkady repeats. Bucky’s struggling to keep his breathing even and Bucky Bear’s growling and yelling at him to beat them all up and Bucky can’t tell if the look on Arkady’s face is actually malicious or if he’s just so scared that it seems that way.

“He’s hiding something.” Josef’s voice. He, Leo, and Dmitri are by Bucky’s bookshelf, and it’s the first time in three days that Bucky’s heard him speak. “That’s why he’s kept us out.”

“You have a lot of books,” Dmitri adds, and Bucky thinks his mouth twists when he says it, like he knows the books aren’t _right_.

“And bears,” Tesla says. The Bearvengers are lined up all at the foot of his bed, with Bucky Bear on the pillow. There’s no way that Bucky can hide them now. There’s no point. Everyone’s seen.

Bucky whirls to face her, tries to project all the authority he can into his voice. “Get out of my—”

There’s a tug at his waistband.

Arkady. Bucky never even saw him _move._ He twists away, slamming his arm into Arkady’s hands.  “ _Ubiraysya_!” he shouts.

From behind, someone grabs onto his pant legs and tugs them down.

For a second the only sound is Bucky’s heart, so fast and loud that it’s just a steady rush of noise, roaring, screaming in his ears.

“ _Podguzniki_?” Tesla’s staring. They’re all staring, and there are hands—Leo’s—on his waist now, holding him still, and everybody can _see._

“Why do you have diapers?”

“What happened to you? Are you hurt?”

“The electricity must have damaged his brain.”

“Why does it have bows and arrows on it?”

And Tesla’s reaching out to touch him and Bucky can’t _breathe_ the pressure in his tummy is so bad now and he can’t hold on and they’re going to _laugh._

He kicks back and Leo lets go and Bucky’s running, shoving Tesla hard out of the way, through the first door he can find. It’s the closet and Bucky hides himself in the corner, trying to cover himself with clothes like it matters, like they don’t know he’s there. And he’s shaking and there’s a flood of warmth in his pull-up and the pressure’s gone but he’s still sick to his stomach, and his face is wet now too and he can’t make the tears stop.

Bucky doesn’t know how long he stays like that, curled up in the corner.

“Bucky?” It’s Daddy’s voice. Daddy’s arms close around him, and Bucky hugs on tight, burying his face against Daddy’s shoulder. Daddy picks him up and Bucky shuts his eyes. The soldiers are probably still there. He doesn’t want to see them laugh. “Buck, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Then they’re moving. Daddy sits down on the bed. He’s trying to give Bucky a bear, but Bucky can’t let go. His hands are too shivery to work.

“What’s wrong with him?” It’s Dmitri asking. Bucky’s face is on fire.

“One of his handlers in HYDRA conditioned him to act like a child between missions.” That’s Natasha’s voice. He didn’t know she was here. Now she knows too and he’ll never be able to look at anybody ever again. “To make him more controllable. To degrade him.”

It’s quiet. Probably they’re all thinking how pathetic Bucky is.

“It’s okay,” Daddy says. He’s rocking Bucky a little. “They didn’t mean to scare you, little lamb. It’s all right.”

“Why don’t you fix him?” Josef asks.

Daddy doesn’t stop rocking. “It’s complicated.”

“It’s not complicated.” Josef sounds angry. Disgusted. Bucky tries not to whimper. “You said it was conditioning. Conditioning can be broken. Do you want him to stay weak and pathetic?”

“He’s not pathetic,” Daddy says.

“Look at him!”

Natasha sighs. She sounds exasperated, and Bucky squeezes his eyes shut tighter. “Vulnerability isn’t a punishable offense here. It’s not an offense at all. Bucky takes comfort from being cared for, and it doesn’t hurt anyone to care for him. He’s brave enough to let his guard down after everything he’s been through. There’s nothing pathetic about it.”

Josef snorts. “He’s like a child! He can’t defend himself. He can’t go on missions. Is that what you want? For him to be helpless? Is that what you want for all of us?”

“Sometimes I like to be a child and I go on missions.” Natasha’s voice is steely. Whenever the grown-ups are arguing and Natasha talks like that, she always gets her way. “I’m an Avenger. And when I want to be, I’m seven. It’s a comfort thing. We deserve to have comfort. Bucky made the choice not to go on any more missions, and that’s his right. You all have the right to choose what you want. You can do the things that make you happy, and we won’t judge you for them.”

Josef doesn’t answer, but the way he breathes makes Bucky think that he doesn’t believe her at all.

Someone’s standing up. The footsteps are light and soft, and Bucky thinks it’s Natasha until the person’s settling onto the bed and speaking. “Soldat?”

It’s Tesla. Bucky clings onto Daddy.

“Hey,” Tesla says. “Soldatchka. Look at me.”

Bucky opens one eye, peering over Daddy’s shoulder. Tesla’s face is creased with concern and Bucky hides again.

“We didn’t mean to scare you, Soldatchka.” Her voice is soft and light. “We didn’t understand. I’m sorry.”

“You think I’m stupid,” Bucky says. His face is still so hot.

“I don’t.” There’s a hand on his arm and Bucky flinches, which makes Daddy let out his breath in a sudden _omph._ “We won’t tease you, Soldatchka. You don’t have to be scared.” She moves her hand away, and then there’s something else touching him. Something soft.

Bucky looks, and she’s holding out Thor Bear.

“I like your bears,” Tesla says. “What are their names?”

With a shaky hand, Bucky reaches out to take his bear. “You don’t think I’m weird?”

“You saved our lives, Soldatchka.” Tesla brushes some hair away from his wet face. “Now we can take care of you.”

*

Things are better after that.

Bucky can be whatever age he feels like and no one will tease him for it, just like Tesla said. Josef’s face is still tight when Bucky’s little, and there are some misunderstandings, like when Dmitri thought that Bucky couldn’t eat solid foods when he was small, but mostly they’re just really nice. They call him Soldatchka and _bratik_ and hold his hand when they walk to the playroom. Whenever Tasha or Bucky can’t reach something on a shelf, Leo will pick them up so they can. All the ducklings color with them, and Arkady laughs when Tasha calls them ducklings, and Josef even quacks.

The ducklings seem happier too, now. Bucky thinks it’s because they know that he isn’t punished for “weakness,” so they don’t have to always be strong either. Arkady admits that he feels scared all the time, and he doesn’t even know why. Some of the songs on the iPod help, so Arkady carries that around with him.

Leo stops stealing magazines and lipstick once Natasha paints his nails. He lets his hair down and asks for skirts and boots and JARVIS shows him web pages about gender identity. Leo and Tesla spend two whole hours that night talking about pronouns.

Dmitri is more Dmitri now. He doesn’t copy Bucky’s every move and he chooses his own books and movies. Tesla likes being in charge. She watches Bucky and Tasha play and insists on holding Bucky’s hand when he walks to the bathroom, no matter how often he tells her that she really doesn’t need to. Sometimes Tasha gets huffy or stomps her foot when Tesla tries to say their games aren’t safe, but Bucky doesn’t mind. There’s not a lot for Tesla to be in control of here, and she’s nice.

It’s not like the problems go away. Josef still hardly says anything. Arkady can’t calm himself down enough for Bruce’s meditation techniques to work. A few times, Bucky catches Dmitri crying because he misses Russia. And there was the time Leo thought Clint was laughing at him, so both he and Tesla punched Clint.

But things are getting better. Arkady even asked the other day if he could try talking to the doctors again. And best of all, everybody wants to play bears.

Bucky Bear hadn’t been sure about it at first. He said that he didn’t want to let a bunch of potential threats know all his battle techniques. But then Tesla had whined about it and Dmitri said how Bucky Bear probably came up with the best missions, and Bucky Bear had relented. He even stopped muttering about how it was a bad idea once the mission was over and everybody patted Bucky Bear’s head and said how smart and resourceful he was.

They play bears a lot, and Bucky starts letting the ducklings pick the missions. He wants to get them all bears of their own, like he did for Rumlow. Maybe Leo’s could be tie-dyed, all pink and blue and purple. The ducklings’ missions always end up bloody with high body counts, but Bucky figures that’s okay for now. Whenever he gets to come up with the story, he just makes up a happier ending.

The ducklings also find new people to duckling after. Clint lets Dmitri fire some special arrows that can’t hurt anybody, and Dmitri spends two whole days shadowing him after that. Tesla always wants to spar with Nat. And everybody follows Steve. One night Arkady woke Bucky up because Arkady had a bad dream and couldn’t fall back asleep, so Bucky and all the ducklings went to get on Daddy’s bed since Daddy’s the best at helping with bad dreams. Even if he’s confused at first about why there’s a brood of ducklings on the bed. Everything’s going really well.

Which is why it’s such a shock when Josef hits Bucky.

They’re in the playroom. Josef is standing by himself because he didn’t want to play Duck, Duck, Goose. Once the game’s over, he looks so lonely that Bucky can’t help but go over and hug him.

That’s when Josef sends Bucky flying into a wall. He doesn’t have time to right himself before Josef is on top of him, hands tight on Bucky’s throat.

“I don’t want to be like you!” Josef screams. His face is red, veins bulging out. “I hate you! You brought us here and took everything away! You want us to be content as useless children and I won’t! _Ublyudok_!”

It takes Natasha and all the other ducklings to pull him off. By the time they do, Daddy and Iron Man and everyone else are in the doorway. Bucky gasps for air, throat burning.

“I hate this,” Josef says. The ducklings are holding him down and his eyes shine with tears. “I wish I’d never woken up.”

“I’m sorry,” Bucky rasps, hauling himself up. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

“Everything I wanted is gone.” Josef’s crying in earnest now. Leo stops pinning him down, rubbing his back instead. “HYDRA discarded me. My country no longer exists. All I know how to do is fight, and I have nothing to fight for anymore. I can’t live like you do. I feel empty inside and it’s only getting worse.”

“We can help you,” Daddy says. He kneels down to Josef’s level. “When I woke up, everything was gone for me too. We can help you through this.”

“I can’t be here!” Josef insists. “I’ll only hurt you.”

Tony slides up the face-plate on his mask. “I can help with that.”

*

It turns out Tony hasn’t just been hiding in his lab for weeks to stay away from the ducklings. He was using his connections to set up a place where they could put the ducklings in the long term. There’s a property about forty-five minutes from Manhattan that Tony owns. It used to be a physical therapy center, but now it’s vacant. At least, it was. Tony’s had construction crews working for the past few weeks to get it redone.

“Why did you buy a physical therapy center?” Bruce had asked when Tony explained.

“Never know when you’re gonna need a building.”

The Worths recommended some doctors who were good with exit counseling, which Tony says is how people are deprogrammed when they’re coming out of cults. And there are doctors who are really good with PTSD and bad tempers. Bucky doesn’t know how Tony found so many people so fast who were willing to work just with these five patients all the time for maybe years. Clint says it’s easy to get your way when you have more money than anyone needs.

Steve was worried about security. The ducklings get really mad or scared sometimes, and they’re so strong, especially if they work together.

But Tony pointed out that this building is running with his tech and his machinery, and the ducklings hadn’t been able to break out of the tower. Besides, he says, if things get really bad, then a forty-five minute drive won’t take any time at all for a Quinjet or an Iron Man suit.

“I think this is better,” Josef says.

Tony’s unloading their bags from the van. He hasn’t said much to them at all, not since he explained about the building. Bucky thought at first that Tony hated the ducklings, blaming them for his parents’ death. But he’s not sure that’s the case anymore. It might just be that Tony gets choked up with all his feelings when he thinks of speaking to them, so he throws money at the problem instead. It seems like a Tony thing to do. He hadn’t really talked to Bucky at first either. He just showed him to the washing machine and gave him special sheets.

“HYDRA always told us to strive to be just like you,” Josef continues. “I know that’s not what you want, but I can’t let it go.”

Bucky nods. The building looks nice. There are flowers all around the exterior. “It’s not easy to rebuild your life,” he says. “It’s still hard for me, in all the time I’ve been out. But I think getting to recover on your own terms will help.”

“But you’ll visit, won’t you?” Dmitri asks. He’s right at Bucky’s shoulder, and Bucky can’t help but to hug him.

“As often as I can,” he promises, holding tight. There are arms and pressure all around him. A group hug. “And if they let you use email, I’ll do that too.”

“We’ll miss you, Soldatchka.” Tesla’s lips graze his cheek before she steps away.

“Thank you for finding us,” Arkady adds.

“And bring your bears when you visit,” Leo says. Bucky Bear is here now, and Leo gives his paw a squeeze.

“I’ll bring you bears of your own,” Bucky says. “They’ll brighten up your rooms.”

 _Maybe not bears, though_ , Bucky thinks, watching Tony usher the ducklings inside. After all, they’re trying to become their own people now. Maybe they’d prefer some fuzzy stuffed ducks.

**Author's Note:**

> Russian translations:  
>  _Dobroye utro, Soldat._ : Good morning, Soldier.  
>  _Ya gotov otvechat._ : Ready to comply.  
>  _soldaty_ : soldiers  
>  _Ubiraysya._ : Get out.  
>  _podguzniki_ : diapers  
>  _bratik_ : little brother  
>  _ublyudok_ : bastard
> 
> Soldatchka is a diminutive nickname for Soldat, and does not have any particular translation. 
> 
> [_Five Little Ducks_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCyznSQihKY) is a nursery rhyme.
> 
> In _Civil War_ , only one of the five soldiers is named in the end credits. That soldier is Josef, played by [Jackson Spidell](http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Jackson_Spidell). Josef is the soldier that Bucky fought in his flashback. Dmitri, Leonid, and Arkady were three Soviet assassins trained by the Winter Soldier and held in cryostasis in Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier comics. In this story I named [Yi Long's](http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Yi_Long) Super Soldier 2 Arkady, [Aaron Toney's](http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Aaron_Toney) Super Soldier 4 Dmitri, and [Cale Schultz's](http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Cale_Schultz) Super Soldier 5 Leonid. Tesla Tarasova is a KGB assassin, also from the Winter Soldier comics. I named [Heidi Moneymaker's](http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Heidi_Moneymaker) Super Soldier 3 Tesla after her.
> 
> Although I used the super soldiers from _Civil War_ , in this AU the trigger words from that movie do not exist.
> 
> Come say hello on my [Tumblr!](http://lauralot89.tumblr.com)


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